Business broadband (inc voip)

[fattony]

we are looking to move into our office in Feb 2019 and I’m looking at broadband providers, I initially looked at Voipfone as our phone service is through them but their broadband is quite pricey compare to this for example. I presume I can run voip phones through any broadband provider, do I need to look out for minimum requirements, such as must have fiber etc

Thanks

https://www.plus.net/business/deals...bizafffib8&affiliate=uswitch&WT.mc_id=aff_003

 

[EmC007]

The ideal is to use the same VoIP and broadband provider. Also then to manage the network to prevent network saturation. Also consider dedicated VoIP circuit to provide quality of service.

 

[KM-Tiger]

The ideal is to use the same VoIP and broadband provider.

Not necessarily. If both providers are high quality, then there will be few problems, and fixed quickly if there are.

OP: If internet is business critical (is for most businesses these days) then I wouldn't buy broadband on price. Generally speaking cheap = poor service.

I use Voipfone with broadband from Andrews & Arnold. Not the cheapest but in my view the very best. I don't hesitate to recommend.

 

[EmC007]

If you can use the same provider then the round trip is shorter and packets do not traverse the Internet thus lower latency and lower packet loss thus leading to better quality service.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

If you can use the same provider then the round trip is shorter and packets do not traverse the Internet thus lower latency and lower packet loss thus leading to better quality service.

Really, why would you troll him and give him the wrong impression that the package route would have less travel time. Absolutely nonsense. For Internet don't cheap out and get proper equipment The router an isp provides is a product for the bin. Get yourself as minimum a draytek router and the optional 4g fail over via dongle. VoIP get yealink phones and for VoIP services there are many around. Ideally you want some sort of fake sold fibre business service such as 80/20. VoIP can work fine on ADSL depends on distance to exchange..Setup qos on router as well. If you don't know what any of that means hire a professional

 

[EmC007]

I do believe you have the wrong end of the stick. Using the same provide will provide less hops between the router and the end point service. You maybe lucky and there is an interconnect between the ISP and the VoIP provider which would reduce the hops. I think you have not fully understood what is meant by packet so you may need to look that up. I also did not mention anything about a router and I agree that often the supplied router if given can be poor. Using Draytek equipment is sensible but not essential. Having a 4G fail over could cause issues with SIP registration so wouldn't necessarily suggest that route. Equally 4G will undoubtedly provide higher latency and potential for packet loss. Also 4G is not available everywhere so coverage could be an issue and then not worth having. I agree that Yealink offer reasonable equipment.
Also adding QoS on the router is likely to be pointless unless the ISP is also offering QoS and that is unlikely unless a PWAN is being used. I should add that yes you can use VoIP services in other configurations but it is preferable to look or explore same provider solutions.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

I think as long as he doesn't get a VOIP service from an African provider he wont notice much. I get better speed and latency from us servers than from one in Ireland.

3G/4G failover on a prepaid sim card via Draytek router works like a charm even for VOIP calls to be honest and gives you that bit extra piece of mine on top of your cable based internet access.

QOS with Draytek is a breeze and combine that with a Ubiquity AP and you have a solid base for internet. Just finished a small projects for a client. 5 VOIP lines from a local company with unlimited calls UK and business uinternet from BT 80/20 cost him £71 + VAT / month . Quality of VOIP is spot on but mostly down o proper hardware too.

 

[GraemeL]

@cjd has been a provider of excellent information about Voip, even though you say they are expensive - I have no idea if that is true or not.

I can say that Voipfone has worked a treat for me.
G

 

[fattony]

So confused, lol

Voipfone are expensive if you compare a like for like package from the normal run of the mill suppliers.

You can get a no limit package from Plus net or talk talk (think even bt) for around £30 a month, Voipfone by comparison is £around £50

It’s not mega money but I’m wondering if it’s worth the extra

 

[KM-Tiger]

It’s not mega money but I’m wondering if it’s worth the extra

Such services are fine from any supplier when they work.

What differentiates suppliers is how well and how quickly issues get dealt with when they don't work. Only you can assess the business risk of a service down and choose accordingly.

 

[EmC007]

If you are still confused post the links to the different offers and let's see what's going on.

 

[cjd]

So confused, lol

Voipfone are expensive if you compare a like for like package from the normal run of the mill suppliers.

You can get a no limit package from Plus net or talk talk (think even bt) for around £30 a month, Voipfone by comparison is £around £50

It’s not mega money but I’m wondering if it’s worth the extra

Confusion is fine, no-one is born intuitively knowing this stuff

You can use pretty much any reasonably decent broadband provider - VoIP doesn't need much bandwidth and most are good now.

There are advantages of using the same broadband provider as your VoIP provider though.

1. If there's a problem the VoIP provider and the broadband provider can't blame each other - they have to resolve it on their own network. Of course that only applies if they have decent customer support in the first place.

2. Having your calls on the same network as the broadband can allow more control by the provider. For example we prioritise the download path for VoIP so that calls aren't conflicted by other traffic and we do the same using the router we provide for the upload channel. This means that you normally don't need to have two lines if you're using several extensions.

In our case too, as we've built our own network - we don't resell somebody else's - there's no congestion or contention.

 

[mrjohnofee]

It sounds like you're weighing options between providers. VoIPfone might be a bit pricier, but they offer solid service, especially if reliability is a priority. Other providers like Plusnet or TalkTalk can be cheaper, but you might run into issues with support if something goes wrong. It really depends on what matters most to you—cost or peace of mind with service. Let me know if you need more help figuring this out!

 

[cjd]

6 year old post John, if you want to sell your stuff here, you're going to have to be a bit smarter than that